There is a par 5 at my home course where lately they have been enforcing a local rule. Any ball lost off the tee into the right woods at 200-250yds or so is dropped well away from the woods and doesn't need to be searched for. This is because there have been baseball bat thick copperheads reported running in that part of the woods.

If I was playing it I would just lay 3 and hit 4 from a spot near where the ball went out.

Either the copperheads are real or a big group of slicers decided that they were tired of looking in the woods.

One of the courses that I play once a week or so has a couple of resident gators on it. One is probably 5ft long and the other is probably 6-7ft. I see them all the time, but I've only had to hit by one of them once. I hit my approach shot about 10 ft away from the bigger one and had to chip with my back turned to him. I had my buddy watch him to make sure he didn't run at me while I wasn't watching, lol.

If you think hitting a tee shot while the group behind you watches is unnerving, then try turning your back on a gator. Needless to say I hit it thin and went over the green.

One of the courses that I play once a week or so has a couple of resident gators on it. One is probably 5ft long and the other is probably 6-7ft. I see them all the time, but I've only had to hit by one of them once. I hit my approach shot about 10 ft away from the bigger one and had to chip with my back turned to him. I had my buddy watch him to make sure he didn't run at me while I wasn't watching, lol.

If you think hitting a tee shot while the group behind you watches is unnerving, then try turning your back on a gator. Needless to say I hit it thin and went over the green.

I would be shaking too hard to even swing the club. They actually look pretty tall (in comparison to when they're crouching) when their legs are extended and walking around.

There is a par 5 at my home course where lately they have been enforcing a local rule. Any ball lost off the tee into the right woods at 200-250yds or so is dropped well away from the woods and doesn't need to be searched for. This is because there have been baseball bat thick copperheads reported running in that part of the woods.

If I was playing it I would just lay 3 and hit 4 from a spot near where the ball went out.

Either the copperheads are real or a big group of slicers decided that they were tired of looking in the woods.

Lol! Probably the slicers.😏and next week the "hookers" will spot some bear cubs in the woods to the left. 😱

I've seen hundreds of gators (or maybe the same one hundreds of times) while playing golf. I have never seen one act aggressively toward a human. In fact, they usually dive into the water upon my approach. The only time I saw one come out of a pond was when he tried to snatch a heron standing nearby.

Snakes, however, get a very wide berth. Moccasins have a bad attitude.

Snakes(maybe, maybe not),rodents(no way), or other creatures are dangerous(it depends)...I say a free drop way the hell away!!!!!

Golf is played in a natural environment. The creatures of nature are part of the game. Not all of God's creatures are dangerous to man.

I love all of God's creatures, but at a SAFE distance.

I've played from within 15 feet of a coyote resting in the shade under a tree. She just sat and watched as I played my ball (she had a den with 3 pups up the hill about 50 yards off the course - we have coyotes living there year round that treat the golf course as their private hunting preserve - rabbits, goose, ducks, voles and gophers... it's a coyote smorgasborg). Most such critters won't bother you as long as you stay out of their space. As one mentioned above, water moccasins are aggressive and unpredictable. I've never met one and I prefer it that way. Most other snakes are more inclined to leave your vicinity. Rattlesnakes warn you when you get too close (thus the reason for the nickname of "gentleman snake").

The one time I left a ball in the middle of the fairway and dropped a good 30 yards away in the rough to play was when two bull elk were squaring off in the fairway during rutting season. As it turned out, they didn't do battle, but I wasn't having anything to do with that. I'd be less wary of a bear than of a bull elk in rut.

I'm no coyote expert but in my limited experience with them they tend to be pretty wary, even skittish around humans. Maybe if you got to close to her pups you might have an issue but aside from that the changes of a coyote getting aggressive with a (full grown) human are slim to none.

Edit* I'm talking full grown adults here, I would never let a child anywhere near coyotes, anything shorter than the coyote and all bets are off.

I'm no coyote expert but in my limited experience with them they tend to be pretty wary, even skittish around humans. Maybe if you got to close to her pups you might have an issue but aside from that the changes of a coyote getting aggressive with a (full grown) human are slim to none.

Edit* I'm talking full grown adults here, I would never let a child anywhere near coyotes, anything shorter than the coyote and all bets are off.

Obviously, these animals are accustomed to being around people, and they are very well fed, with the virtually unlimited prey which shares the course with them. The coyotes keep the rabbits under some control, and there has never been an incident of any kind. Several years ago I watched pups playing on the back tee of the 3rd hole while Mom stood guard. I assume that she just hustles them back up to the den when players approach that tee.